


A Criminal's Loss

by Durendal



Category: RWBY
Genre: Gen, Grief, Personally I think Neo and Roman are brother and sister, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-14
Updated: 2016-02-14
Packaged: 2018-05-20 11:00:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6003307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Durendal/pseuds/Durendal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Even henchwomen have loved ones, even henchwomen grieve.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Criminal's Loss

“NEO!”

She hears him scream out her name as the wind drags her off the airship. She hears the alarm in his voice.

It is the last time she hears it. 

When she lands, she lands hard. She lets out a hiss of pain as her legs buckle and she collapses into a heap. She loses her grip on her umbrella and it spirals away into the night. She has landed clear of the fighting, the gunshots from the hunters and huntresses and the roars of the Grimm are faint, barely noticeable. She winces as she grips her legs, the pain is great. Amazingly, however, neither are broken, and she counts her blessings. 

She casts her eyes skyward as she searches for the airship. After a moment, she finds it, amidst a storm of Nevermores and Griffons. She reaches for her scroll, hoping to make contact, but finds her pockets empty. She curses inwardly, she must have lost it when she fell. She grits her teeth and clenches her hands into fists, hating how useless she feels in that moment. 

He can handle himself, she assures herself, he’s more than capable of beating her, he always survi-

Her eyes widen in alarm and she lets out a gasp as she sees the airship’s bridge explode into flames. Her heart races as she watches it fall out of the sky. She does not see it crash, the view obscured by the buildings, but she certainly hears it. The explosion is deafening, even from so far away, and the fighting is drowned out. The fireball that erupts from the crash-zone lights up the night, and for a moment, Vale is as bright as day.

Roman, she thinks, her heart is beating so fast that it is threatening to burst from her chest. Her fists clench so tightly that her knuckles turn white, and her fingernails dig into her palms with enough force to draw blood. 

She knows that he is dead.

Her head sinks and the tears fall.


End file.
